Antoine Griezmann

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Can't see it not happening assuming he moves.

I get the impression he is one of those players who has always dreamed of United and I'm sure the likes of Pogba, Martial, his brother and others will push him in that direction.
 
bosnian_red said:
I keep flipping back and forth on whether we should get him. On one hand, he's obviously a world class player and if used properly would tear up the league I think. On the other hand, he'd cost 100m, and I don't think we'd be able to use both him and Pogba together in their best positions against the very best teams. Against teams like City, Griezmann would basically have to go out on the right. Mkhitaryan I think can play alongside Pogba in a deeper role, but Griezmann as a 10 is much more like a forward rather then a playmaker like Mkhitaryan. So it could still work of course, get a proper holding mid, have Pogba next to him, Griezmann in front behind Ibra, and Miki on the right. It's the sort of lineup that would probably work best on video games but in real life would be a bit unbalanced. It would be enough and probably great to watch against probably 12 teams in the league, but the other 7 we would need to use Griezmann out on the right where he's really not that great. Though at the same time, the way Mourinho uses his wide players to drift in a lot and be central, it could work?
You want a bit more of a guarantee for 100m is all. He's one of my favourite players probably, just not sure if he's exactly what's needed.
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Very much agree with this. If we sign Griezmann and want him at his best, we need to play 4-4-2, which I am not sure we are very suited to. Griezmann is a second striker, not a No.10.

A way I can see it work, is to copy Simeone's formation, with Pogba playing in Koke role, and maybe Mhiki as a right 'winger', but I don't think that is the best way to utilize Pogba. And it means one of Rashford and Martial not starting (or both, if Ibra is still a starter), something that I don't like.

An another way (a bit more balanced) is him in the right, Martial/Rashford in the left, Miki/Mata as No.10, and Pogba in a midfield too. The problem is that Griezmann is just a very good player as a right forward in a front 3, while is one of the best in the world as a second striker.

He's my favorite non United player, but probably not what we need.
 
Part of me would prefer to get a proper right winger in the team, I think Mkhitaryan would excel in the center.

But you just can't let an opportunity to sign one of the worlds best attackers go, especially when you're as big as Man United. He'll be a £100m signing, so we should sign him if we're confident we can get a good balance between him and Pogba.

We're probably lacking a DM, RW more than we are another #10 (as good as he is). I'm conflicted.
 
Revan said:
Very much agree with this. If we sign Griezmann and want him at his best, we need to play 4-4-2, which I am not sure we are very suited to. Griezmann is a second striker, not a No.10.

A way I can see it work, is to copy Simeone's formation, with Pogba playing in Koke role, and maybe Mhiki as a right 'winger', but I don't think that is the best way to utilize Pogba. And it means one of Rashford and Martial not starting (or both, if Ibra is still a starter), something that I don't like.

An another way (a bit more balanced) is him in the right, Martial/Rashford in the left, Miki/Mata as No.10, and Pogba in a midfield too. The problem is that Griezmann is just a very good player as a right forward in a front 3, while is one of the best in the world as a second striker.

He's my favorite non United player, but probably not what we need.
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Yep. Saw on twitter that Isco is our top priority for the January window, and that on the other hand would be close to perfect IMO (for an attacking player). He would go in to the side that played Leicester where Mata played (with Mkhitaryan ideally replacing Lingard and Martial rotating with Rashford). Mata, as good as he plays, we all know won't be Mourinho's first choice long term. He's really intelligent and has great technique, but he can't really move well with the ball nor is he all that agile on it. Put him under some pressure and he loses it pretty often. Isco has huge potential, and brings the same type of creativity while being a lot more agile and skillful on the ball so he can move around in the ways Silva does for City, and perfectly capable of playing on the right of that midfield 3, with Pogba as a box to box and someone else (Carrick/Herrera) as the holding mid.
So far, I see our main starting lineup like this:
Ibrahimovic
Mart/Rash Pogba ??? Mkhitaryan
Carrick/Ander​

Mata can come in that 3rd midfield role perfectly fine in easier games, but that would be too open against tougher teams probably. Isco can play a bit deeper then Mata, while being more aggressive and more mobile off of it, so that's why he would be perfect for all scenarios there. Can Griezmann come in and play that role? Not in my opinion, so Mkhitaryan would have to come inside and he would play as the right winger, which he can do but not what we would spend that money on him for. Like you say, he's a second striker while we need a 3rd midfield type playmaker like David Silva, and Isco would be available and not that expensive really.
 
Revan said:
Very much agree with this. If we sign Griezmann and want him at his best, we need to play 4-4-2, which I am not sure we are very suited to. Griezmann is a second striker, not a No.10.

A way I can see it work, is to copy Simeone's formation, with Pogba playing in Koke role, and maybe Mhiki as a right 'winger', but I don't think that is the best way to utilize Pogba. And it means one of Rashford and Martial not starting (or both, if Ibra is still a starter), something that I don't like.

An another way (a bit more balanced) is him in the right, Martial/Rashford in the left, Miki/Mata as No.10, and Pogba in a midfield too. The problem is that Griezmann is just a very good player as a right forward in a front 3, while is one of the best in the world as a second striker.

He's my favorite non United player, but probably not what we need.
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Why would you play Miki in the center and griezmann on the right? The other way around makes way more sense. In the end it depends on Pogba's development in midfield. We should only buy him if we play him as as SS/10. Everything else is just a waste of money.
 
PedroMendez said:
Why would you play Miki in the center and griezmann on the right? The other way around makes way more sense. In the end it depends on Pogba's development in midfield. We should only buy him if we play him as as SS/10. Everything else is just a waste of money.
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Mhiki is a better playmaker than Griezmann. If we play 4-3-3/4-5-1 then Miki in the middle, if we play 4-4-2 then Griezmann in the middle as a second striker.

Basically, Miki is a No.10 who can play also as a right winger, Griezmann is a second striker who can also play as a right winger.
 
bosnian_red said:
Yep. Saw on twitter that Isco is our top priority for the January window, and that on the other hand would be close to perfect IMO (for an attacking player). He would go in to the side that played Leicester where Mata played (with Mkhitaryan ideally replacing Lingard and Martial rotating with Rashford). Mata, as good as he plays, we all know won't be Mourinho's first choice long term. He's really intelligent and has great technique, but he can't really move well with the ball nor is he all that agile on it. Put him under some pressure and he loses it pretty often. Isco has huge potential, and brings the same type of creativity while being a lot more agile and skillful on the ball so he can move around in the ways Silva does for City, and perfectly capable of playing on the right of that midfield 3, with Pogba as a box to box and someone else (Carrick/Herrera) as the holding mid.
So far, I see our main starting lineup like this:
Ibrahimovic
Mart/Rash Pogba ??? Mkhitaryan
Carrick/Ander​

Mata can come in that 3rd midfield role perfectly fine in easier games, but that would be too open against tougher teams probably. Isco can play a bit deeper then Mata, while being more aggressive and more mobile off of it, so that's why he would be perfect for all scenarios there. Can Griezmann come in and play that role? Not in my opinion, so Mkhitaryan would have to come inside and he would play as the right winger, which he can do but not what we would spend that money on him for. Like you say, he's a second striker while we need a 3rd midfield type playmaker like David Silva, and Isco would be available and not that expensive really.
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I am not convinced that Isco is any better than Mata. I think that Mata is a brilliant player, and he can actually do well what Mourinho requires from him. On the yesterday's match he played well pulling the strings, while also was the player who covered more ground than any other player in our team. Mourinho loves his hardworkers and Mata is doing exactly that.
 
Revan said:
Mhiki is a better playmaker than Griezmann. If we play 4-3-3/4-5-1 then Miki in the middle, if we play 4-4-2 then Griezmann in the middle as a second striker.

Basically, Miki is a No.10 who can play also as a right winger, Griezmann is a second striker who can also play as a right winger.
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In general, buying Griezmann and shifting him to the right makes no sense at all. The question if he fit into the team behind a CF also has little to do with Miki. Dortmund did often play with Reus behind Auba, while Miki started (nominally) on one wing. He rarely started in the center for Dortmund, so I really don´t see how you could possibly say, that he is less effective starting out wide. The positions on a team-sheet hardly capture the role he should play anyway. In the end a lot depends on how a player actually plays and not where his name appears on the team-sheet.

He is not a touch-line hugging winger, but he is not a play-maker. At least not what I´d understand under the term. You either allow him to play in his best role or not, but it certainly doesn´t have anything to do with Griezmann playing in the centre, because they would complement each other just fine.
In the end buying Griezmann should depend primarily on Pogba and how he develops (+ the midfielder next to him). We bought him for a record fee and he is our most talented player (bar DDG), so we should make sure to get the best out of him.
 
The disappointing thing about this is that we should have been all over him when he was at Sociedad.
 
Revan said:
I am not convinced that Isco is any better than Mata. I think that Mata is a brilliant player, and he can actually do well what Mourinho requires from him. On the yesterday's match he played well pulling the strings, while also was the player who covered more ground than any other player in our team. Mourinho loves his hardworkers and Mata is doing exactly that.
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Its the type of player he is. Mata is incredibly effective but he is a limited player. Its not so much that he is slow or doesnt do much defensively. More the fact that on the ball he cant really move with it in the way Isco/Silva do, and having that type next to Pogba would compliment him perfectly from an attack viewpoint.
 
I was a big advocate of bringing him here for a couple of years now but that ship has sailed with the Pogba signing. To get the best out of the latter we need to be playing with a point backward midfield, they wouldn't work together, at least not yet. Just look at Pogba's performance with France.
 
He would be an upgrade on Mata, but with Targaryan I don't think it is a 100m upgrade we need.

Money could be better spent elsewhere.
 
Play him and Pogba with a defensive mid behind them. Miki and Martial on the wings and Zlatan up front. Rashford to rotate wherever. Done
 
Great player but I think he'd be a vanity buy for us, we need to build around Pogba and him and Griezmann can't operate in their best positions in the same team.There are 3 other Atletic players I'd opt for first.
 
Devil may care said:
Great player but I think he'd be a vanity buy for us, we need to build around Pogba and him and Griezmann can't operate in their best positions in the same team.There are 3 other Atletic players I'd opt for first.
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They can, if we would play with the diamond. Whether we should is another discussion.
 
If you have the opportunity to add one of the very best attacking players in the world, you should do it. Zlatan will fall off sometime very soon, Martial and Rashford have amazing potential but aren't (yet) at truly elite level. Griezmann would become your best attacking player instantaneously.

IMO, building a team around Pogba is a mistake. He is an extremely talented player who is obviously a positive addition in the abstract but if adding him will preclude you from buying the likes of Griezmann then buying Pogba is going to turn out to be a bad decision.
 
Buying players for the sake of buying them is a bad habit we need to shake.

Griezmann is world class and one of my favourite players but he has to play in a system we don't suit.

We don't have the no nonsense DM needed to be able to justify playing with such an attacking line up IMO.
 
Given Griezmann's skillset, he would be a strange fit just ahead of Pogba. He's not a proper #10, so the creativity and passing ability we need will not be provided by him. And as a Müller-esque forward/support striker, you'll have to rely on Pogba to become more Vieira/Schweinsteiger than Gerrard in the center of the park. Out wide, Griezmann's not that great, plus he's more of someone who immediately comes in when played there, instead of providing genuine ability to beat his man (like say Bale) or flank stretching ability. Reckon this would probably be the best fit if we do sign him:

----↱---------------Griezmann-----------------------
-Martial*----------------↕------------↞Mkhitaryan--
-----------Pogba--------------------------------------
------------------------------------Ander**-----------
-------------------------6------------------------------

Bit of a projection, but as a potential False 9, he has the ability to drop into pockets, link up with the other wide forwards/wingers, and use his movement to get at the end of threatening balls (which is arguably his biggest quality as a forward - allied with a sense opportunism). Though ideally, you should have someone who's more creative and a better dribbler to open up the channels (like say Dybala - who would make for a great False 9, IMO). Can't see Mourinho using him in that system, though.

* Or Rashford
** or Ander 6, and someone else as the right sided box-to-box
 
Don't think he's the best fit for us. Ideally we should grab a replacement for Zlatan when he's done. We have good number of young attackers otherwise.
 
Been thinking a while he would be the perfect partoner for costa at Chelsea. Can see that happening more than to us to.
 
As nice as it'd be for us to sign Griezmann, it really wouldn't be sensible for us to chuck a load of money at him and Atletico and expect it all to just click. It's an area of our team that doesn't actually need improvement at the moment anyway.
 
If we are going to chuck money in Atletico's direction then we better chuck them at Saul :drool:
 
khoazany said:
Don't think he's the best fit for us. Ideally we should grab a replacement for Zlatan when he's done. We have good number of young attackers otherwise.
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I think We already have it in Rashford. Zlatan is brilliant but will be here for 2 seasons, on the second we have Marcus for the main striker and Griezmann behind him.

I feel he would be perfect for the long run, especially offloading Rooney and saving money. With the likelihood of Mourinho adding Fabinho to the squad, we'll have the DM we want to free more options.

It won't be remotely cheap, but makes more sense the longer I keep thinking about it.
 
Personally I don't think he would fit in that well. Would possibly be a waste of money that could be spent a lot more wisely.
 
.................Ibrahimovic.......
Martial........Griezmann....Rashford
.......Pogba..............Herrera....

//Mata, Mkhitaryan, Fellaini, Neves?

I think the Euros showed that Griezmann is at his best in the No. 10 position, it's not working that well as a right winger, imo. The question is would the acquisition of Griezmann improve the starting line up that much, because the likes of Mata and Mkhitaryan ain't bad...

For me next season a very good right back is an absolute necessity. Apart from that, i'm totally open to new ideas. :drool:
 
He was my first choice signing for a long time but now that we have Pogba I'm not sure it would be wise (unless we play him up front of course).

We'd need a really solid midfield behind him and Pogba and Herrera, as talented as they are, aren't that. If we wanted another 'galactico' I'd rather it was a third midfielder than a forward really.
 
Everything seems to be lined up for a move away in 2018, not next summer.

-Simeone has redone his contract so that it only runs through 2018 and everybody thinks he will leave then.
-Atleti will likely have a transfer ban next summer and therefore no ability to replace Griezmann if he leaves in 2017.
-Atleti are also moving into their stadium after next summer, which many supporters are unhappy about, and its very important to them to field a top-level team in 2017-18.

It will be up to Griezmann in the end due to the release clause. But he seems very loyal to Atleti and Simeone and he would really be screwing them over if he left in summer 2017. I wouldn't be surprised if its all agreed that both Simeone and Griezmann will leave in 2018 but not beforehand.
 
An Irish Red said:
He was my first choice signing for a long time but now that we have Pogba I'm not sure it would be wise (unless we play him up front of course).

We'd need a really solid midfield behind him and Pogba and Herrera, as talented as they are, aren't that. If we wanted another 'galactico' I'd rather it was a third midfielder than a forward really.
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I agree, we need to be targeting a solid holding midfielder like Veratti and a right back like Aurier (just throw £100m for both at PSG, Ed!) before we spend yet more money on an attacking player. Though I can only see Greizman being a no9 or on the right; can't see Mou going to a 4231, especially since getting rid of Rooney would allow him to play his preferred 433 formation.
 
Not sure he'd be beneficial now we've got pogba, there'd be to much overlap in the areas they cover. Think we can get a couple of seasons out of zlatan, who's been a breath of fresh air as well so no need for him up front. Not bothered about him out wide.
 
Scholsey2004 said:
Not sure he'd be beneficial now we've got pogba, there'd be to much overlap in the areas they cover. Think we can get a couple of seasons out of zlatan, who's been a breath of fresh air as well so no need for him up front. Not bothered about him out wide.
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Pogba is not the issue here. Paul, is suited as either the box to box midfielder or the one in a free role in a 3 men CM. Griezmann can slot greatly as in the left winger/forward role cutting inside behind either Rashford or Martial irrespective of Pogba or not. The problem would be Mkhitaryan (can we have 2 inside forwards?) and Martial/Rashford (should we bench one of them to play Griezmann? Should we bring a player who offer something different as an alternative rather then having 2 top strikers which basically have the same skillset)
 
devilish said:
Pogba is not the issue here. Paul, is suited as either the box to box midfielder or the one in a free role in a 3 men CM. Griezmann can slot greatly as in the left winger/forward role cutting inside behind either Rashford or Martial irrespective of Pogba or not. The problem would be Mkhitaryan (can we have 2 inside forwards?) and Martial/Rashford (should we bench one of them to play Griezmann? Should we bring a player who offer something different as an alternative rather then having 2 top strikers which basically have the same skillset)
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Mata or lingard as well, i suppose if they played out wide. They both drift in as well which is pointless if theres already a guy there. Itd be the same kind of congestion we saw with rooney and van persie.
 
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